A Month After the Murder of Juan Francisco Sicilia and Other Young People, a National Forum Begins

By Carolina CorralSpecial to The Narco News Bulletin

April 28, 2011

CUERNAVACA, MORELOS, MEXICO, Wednesday April 27, 2011: This morning the water in the Paloma de la Paz fountain was dyed the color of blood when members with the Movement for Peace took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and got into the fountain to sprinkle in red vegetable oil paint to act as the blood shed in this so-called “war against narco-trafficking.”

DR 2011 Miguel Licea

“The blood represents all of the victims that the violence and the war have left us with during this administration. It is also a way to protest the authorities and their inability to stop the operations of criminal groups in this country,” explained a member of the network.

This was the first action on the itinerary of a protest that is being lead by three motives: to remember the seven people murdered a month ago along with all of the others who have lost their lives in the same way, to protest a proposal for a national public security law that would give the executive branch of the government the power to use the army at its beck and call against demonstrators, and to promote the National Forum of Young People in the National Emergency.

DR 2011 Miguel Licea

Once the fountain waters had turned red the young people moved to the state Attorney General’s office to close it down with a yellow banner that said “Closed due to impunity and complicity.” They delivered their fist letter to the office, denouncing the ineffectiveness of the Attorney General, who has not resigned from his position despite four hundred deaths in Morelos due to the “war” and inefficient legal investigations. The demonstrators read in a loud voice, “We are here to remind Attorney General Luis Benítez Vélez that he has not done his job as a public servant.” They denounced the fact that “there is no justice for victims of this so-called ‘war’ against narco-trafficking, because the criminals and authorities imitate each other until they turn into one entity.”

DR 2011 Miguel Licea

The last stop was the Morelos State Congress while the deputies were in session. Members of the network entered the building and turned their backs on the lawmakers to show the same way they had turned their backs on the public. Network members began to read a letter to the chamber which called for them, among others things, to reconsider a proposal to impeach Governor Marco Adame Castillo and bring him to justice. “We know that we can’t ask you for very much. In a few months more than half of you will have resigned to look for another elected political position, directing the legislative gridlock in the state. However, we still believe that you can salvage a shred of dignity and assume the role to impeach the one who was elected to govern but has not done so.”

They ended their letter saying “we are closing down this congress to denounce that in Morelos there is no governing body that brings justice.” They put up another yellow banner that said “Closed due to incompetents.” They said that there is a lack of political representatives who are making coherent decisions in favor of the public and called for Mexican youth to come to talk—to create agreements and solutions for the country—at the National Forum of Young People in the National Emergency being held April 28-29 at the Mexican Union of Electricians’ hall in Cuernavaca. Attendees from Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Chiapas, Sonora, Michoacán and Guerrero have confirmed that they are arriving to the city today to begin discussing Mexico’s future.